Fieldnotes
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Migration
A good, spicy Bloody Mary helps in recovering from these early dawn days. Today is Global Big Day, so get out there and see some of your avian neighbors, Also-Earthlings! Assuming the position.
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Monk, Oriole
Checking in with the vocal Monk Parakeets (Myiopsitta monachus) of Green-Wood. Still hollering, in general, although this one was quiet for the photo. Year-around residents, they were introduced from the Andes. There are little clusters elsewhere in Brooklyn, but I believe the colony at the Green-Wood gate and the ConEd substation across the street is…
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Some Recent Trees
A return to this young, and therefore low, Tuliptree (Liriodendron tulipifera). Remember how tiny these were back in March?Looking very weedy, several Pawpaws (Asimina triloba) sprout in the Brooklyn Wedding Venue’s Native Flora Garden. The tree turns out to be clonal, explains the sprouts. This is a new tree for me, just barely in range…
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Goslings
Not exactly the middle of the road. But close! There were two families of Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) goslings down at the end on 39th St. this weekend. They were hanging out with the feral cats who infest the area.Both goslings (and their parents, who hissed sinisterly at bipeds) and cats seemed cool about the…
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Enterdale
This is the way to enter Prospect Park: start at Grand Army Plaza and enter on the left, past the statue of James S.T. Stranahan. He was never a military man, so saluting wouldn’t be appropriate, but you should tip your top hat* in his memory. Follow the curving path around the corner of the…
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Pothole
Seemingly drilled into the schist of Inwood Hill by some kind of large-bore drill, this is actually a glacial pothole, scoured out by the mighty power of swirling water and abrasive stones during the heady days of the Wisconsin glaciation. The diameter is a little over a foot and a half. The heights of Inwood,…
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What Good Are Birds, Anyway?
Sure they’re cool to look at and some of them are beautiful singers. But why the hell should anyone who doesn’t like or care about birds give a damn about them? I mean, who cares if one or a hundred species go extinct, there are still 10,000+ left, right? As spring migration warms up, let…
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Beach Tiger Beetle
This is a Northeastern Beach Tiger Beetle (Cicindela dorsalis dorsalis), seen last week in Virginia. The Chesapeake region is their last holdout. They used to live on Long Island beaches, but no longer. Creatures evolved to beach habitat — others include the endangered Piping Plover — never saw the four-wheel drive coming. This was at Bethel…
Backyard and Beyond 